Just a few thoughts in a quiet moment that need to be written down...
Hamburg, Germany remains one of the strangest places
I've ever been. I'm trying to wrap my mind around a section of town
(The Reeperbahn) where a kindergarden is 2 blocks from the red light
district and people overflow the streets on a Sunday for Mass where
only hours before drunks and hookers blocked all traffic.
Dublin, Ireland is not just a place for Guiness
drinkers; filled with parks, flowers and history, you can find a
hundred things to do without drinking. Yes, certain restaraunts are
unpleasant and some help wouldn't know help if it was beaten over their
heads while shouting "Help! Help!", but (despite my need to bring it
up) is is a throughly charming city with slight service-based
challenges.
Vienna, Austria was surprisingly filled with
Americans. Though pollution and time as well as history has taken it's
toll on the beautiful buildings and statues, they continue to repair
and restore them. It is an industry as well as a history. No amount of
Mozart junk shops will ruin what the old money of Vienna gave the world
in art and music.
Birmingham, UK has a rep as a rough city that
spawned Black Sabbath. It's also the home of Cadbury Chocolate World,
one of England's busiest cricket pitches and a layered downtown that is
surprisingly artistic and filled with good shopping. As so many
downtowns struggle around the world (think Dallas), it's great to see
the streets filled with people on a Sunday eating, shopping and hanging
out.
11:06:28 PM 
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